shadows, creatures, battles and love
by golden promise
Summary: sequel to Battles, injuries, guildmates and love. There is a man following and watching Natsu and Lucy. he seems to be planning something. what is it and why is he fixated on Lucy? what will happen? read and find out! please R&R :)
1. Chapter 1

**Golden Promise here! So this idea came to me from Alliecat645's review for Battles, injuries, guild mates and love. If you haven't read it yet I recommend it before you start this one. A strange man seems to be following or lovely Natsu and Lucy. What is he up to? Read and find out! Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.**

_The man let out a breath and saw his breath puff out into the air. It had grown colder as the year went along. Snow would soon be expected. The man glanced at the couple a ways in front of him. They were close together, the boys arm around the girl's shoulders. He could practically see the heat radiating off of the two. The man grinned as he watched them, he began hatching a plan. It had been a while since he had seen the salmon haired fire mage and his blood was boiling for some fun. He saw the couple stop a ways away in front of a building. He assumed it was where the blond haired girl lived as he saw her move away to unlock the door. His smile grew wider at the kiss he witnessed. He knew what he wanted to do now, the perfect way to get under the fire mages skin. With this thought in mind he moved down an alley and disappeared into the shadows._

Lucy smiled as she broke apart from the kiss. Even after five months of being together she still wasn't used to being this way with Natsu. Natsu stepped back and put his hands behind his head and smiled at her.

"So do I meet you here tomorrow or at the guild Luce?" he asked her.

"I'll meet you at the guild. I think Happy feels a little neglected lately, you should spend some time with him" Lucy told him. Natsu nodded.

"We are going to go fishing later" he said. Lucy raised a brow.

"In this cold? You're going fishing" she asked. Natsu grinned.

"It's not that cold" he told her. Lucy let out a laugh.

"Oh how I envy the one who never gets cold" Lucy said as she reached for her door knob.

"Don't fall in the water" she jokingly told him.

"No worries here. I'll see you tomorrow Luce" he said. Lucy nodded, said her goodbyes and entered the door. She headed up the stairs to her bedroom quickly and sat down on her bed. She decided to work on her story for a while and sat down to do so.

Outside Natsu walked away from Lucy's apartment and toward his own home. He needed to get the fishing poles ready to go fish. When he made it home Happy already had everything packed. He flew over to Natsu and smiled.

"All ready to go Natsu" he told him.

"Alright let's get to it then" Natsu said as he picked up a few things.

"Aye sir!" Happy responded.

Lucy shivered as she headed to the guild the next day. The temperature had dropped through the night and yet not a single snow flake had fallen.

_I guess I should be thankful for no snow, _Lucy thought to herself as she walked. She rubbed her hands together to warm them up. She noticed just how empty the street was that day and she looked around for a sign of anyone. She felt a shiver go up her spine that had nothing to do with the cold. Lucy's head shot to the direction of a nearby alley and saw what looked like a human shadow on the ground. As she got closer to the alley the shadow appeared to move. Lucy began to feel nervous. Was someone waiting behind the wall in the alley? Waiting for her to pass? Lucy held her breath as she reached the alley and looked in. her eyes widened in confusion as she saw no one in the alley. Letting out a shaky breath she continued walking. She felt as if she was being watched and it creped her out. She had to keep herself from rushing to the guild.

When she finally made it she opened the doors and rushed inside. She let out another sigh of relief and moved toward the ar. She didn't realise her hands were shaking until Mira called her out on it.

"Are you okay Lucy? Your hands are shaking" Mira asked her. Lucy shook her head.

"I…I'm a little bit worried" Lucy told her.

"Whys that?" Mira asked. So Lucy told her about the shadow in the alley and about the feeling of being watched. Mira thought all off this over.

"Lucy, you should tell Natsu" Mira told her. Lucy nodded.

"I will" Lucy agreed. Mira looked as if she was about to say something else when she was interrupted by someone asking for a drink. While she went get the drink Lucy looked around the room for Natsu. She spotted him over with Happy on the other side of the room and looked to be deep in a conversation with Erza. Lucy got up from her stool and started over to the three. She said hello to a few friends as she passed their tables. When she reached Natsu, Happy and Erza, Natsu glanced up and grinned.

"Hey Luce, Erza's got another job for us" He said. Lucy smiled at Erza.

"What is it this time?" she asked questioningly. Erza handed her the request paper. Lucy read it over and felt herself frown.

**Creatures tormenting town. Locals are being stalked and some have disappeared. Requesting help to get rid of these creatures and find the missing citizens.**

**Reward 650,000 jewels**

"Creatures?" Lucy said.

"Not very descriptive" she turned to Erza. Erza nodded.

"We will probably get more information when we arrive. Are you willing to go on this job?" Erza asked her. Lucy nodded.

"Of course" they agreed to meet at the train station the next morning and Erza left to tell Gray.

"Luuucy, I'm hungry" Happy wined when Erza left.

"What do you want me to do about it?" she asked him.

"Could you get me a fish?" he asked her. Lucy gave him an annoyed look.

"Go get your own fish" she told him. Happy's mouth began to quiver and he flew off.

"Lucy's mean!" he called back as he flew toward Mira. Lucy sent a glare his way before turning back to Natsu.

"So did you catch any fish yesterday?" she asked him. Natsu frowned.

"A few, not many though" he told her. Lucy let out a laugh.

"That's what happens when you fish this close to winter. It's too cold for the fish"

"We still had enough to eat though, and it was fun" he smiled. Lucy smiled back.

"I'm glad"

They talked more about his fishing time with Happy until Happy arrived back. Happy got into the conversation and explained the fish he caught happily in detail.

Time flew quickly while Lucy was talking with Natsu and Happy. They had asked Mira for some food and had eaten together. Happy had been ranting about how good the fish was while Lucy and Natsu laughed. Friends had come over to chat with them a bit too, wishing them luck on their new job. Lucy and Levy had chatted for a bit about a new book that had come out. Finally Lucy decided to head home, she had yet to tell Natsu about her experience earlier that day.

As she stood up Natsu glanced at her before standing up as well.

"Hold on a minute Luce, I'll go with you" he told her as he headed off toward the direction Happy had wandered off to. Lucy pulled her jacket on and pulled on her gloves. She dreaded going back out into the cold as she was nice and warm. She smiled though as she remembered Natsu was going with her. When she was finished getting dressed she looked over to where Natsu had gone to talk to Happy. She saw Happy give Natsu a paw clad salute before flying off. When Natsu got back to where she was he grinned.

"Your all bundled up Luce" he pointed out. Lucy crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's because it's cold outside" she told him. He tilted his head.

"I hadn't noticed" he said. Lucy let out a sigh.

"Of course you didn't" he said as she started for the door. Natsu fell into step beside her and took her hand in his. As soon as they stepped out the door a cold blast of air hit her and she shivered. She looked out to the sky and saw tiny snowflakes falling. It was finally snowing. Her breath came out and swirled with the air and she couldn't help but smile as snowflakes stuck to her outstretched hand.

"It finally started to snow" she said as she continued to look at the snowflakes. Beside her Natsu nodded his head and grinned. Lucy lowered her hand and took a step out into the falling snow. The two walked on toward her apartment and the breeze began to pick up. It tossed Lucy's hair lightly around her face and had her pulling up the collar of her jacket to cover her neck. She dipped her head down into the warmth and let out a sigh as her neck was cover from the wind. Beside her she heard Natsu chuckle.

"Luce you look like a turtle doing that" he stated. Lucy sent him a small glare.

"Well my neck is cold and unlike you I'm not wearing a scarf" she told him. He gave her a confused look before looking down at the scarf around his neck. Before Lucy could realise what he was doing he unwound his scarf and settled it around her own neck over her jacket collar. Surprised she brought her head up and brought her free hand to the scarf. She looked over at him and he was smiling.

"Better?" he asked. Lucy not really knowing what to do nodded and thanked him.

"You're welcome" he said and they continued walking. Lucy smiled into the scarf as they walked and she enjoyed the warmth it brought. By the time they reached her apartment the snow had begun to fall in fat flakes that stuck to the ground.

"Hopefully the trains will be running tomorrow for us to go on the job" Lucy said. She heard what sounded like a gagging noise beside her and looked over to see Natsu's face was pale.

"I hope they won't run" he responded. Lucy laughed.

"You'll be okay, Erza said it's a short trip" she told him.

"Then why can't we just walk?" Natsu suggested.

"Because then it would be a long trip and only you're okay with walking there" she responded. This stopped Natsu's complaining. They passed by the alley that was right before her apartment and when they reached her door she turned to Natsu.

"You want to come in for a bit or are you heading home?" she asked him.

"Happy is meeting me at home so we can get some stuff together for tomorrow" he told her. Lucy nodded.

"Okay" she said as she took off his scarf and wrapped it back around his neck.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning then"

_He was watching them again. He saw them pass over the alley and he peered out at them as they walked a few doors down. When they reached the same door as yesterday they stopped and he listened in on what they were saying. _

_**So they have a job**__, the man thought as he continued to listen. He couldn't help but think how perfect this was. He needed to gather a bit more information before he decided what to do. Without detection he moved back into the shadows and vanished._

Lucy yawned as she walked toward the train station. The day was bright and sunny but still cold as she walked. She looked around her at all the people on the street and smiled. She didn't have the feeling of being watched anymore which made her believe she had imagined it the day before. She had forgotten to mention it to Natsu before he had left yesterday and she didn't really see a point in telling him now. The feeling had passed.

When she reached the train station everyone was already waiting and Lucy couldn't help but laugh at Natsu's pained expression.

_Poor Natsu, _she thought. Erza waved her over and she walked to them.

"Good morning Lucy" Erza greeted her.

"Good morning Erza" Lucy said back.

_He saw as the blonde reached the small group of mages. He stood a ways off from them, watching as they slowly walked toward their train. He waited until they were a far distance away before he slowly followed them. He had gotten information about the request they had taken by eavesdropping on conversations, that and using his shadows. He watched as the group boarded the train and he smiled. He would have his chance on their job, he just needed to get an in with whoever was causing what was going on in that town. A few doors down on the same train he boarded and sat down to wait. He could barely hold his excitement._

**So there's the first chapter **** I hope you have enjoyed so far and please R&R**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm sorry everyone :C I know it's been a long time since I updated. What with exams and all my studying and my little bit of writers black I couldn't really write, that and the fact I have a new idea for another story and its stuck in my head but I refuse to write it until I got this one done but maybe I'll break down and post the first chapter of that one too. Anyway here's chapter 2 and I hope you enjoy. I'll try to update again real soon. **

_He had found him, the one responsible for the creatures in the town and he felt his patients growing thin with the man in front of him. He had to keep from growling in frustration and reaching out to hit the man as well. All he did was talk and talk and talk. _

"_**I'll join you and help you but there is only one thing I want. A group of mages is coming here to find you and take you down. There is a certain member I want, I want to play a game you could say. That is it, you can do your thing and I will do mine"**__ he said to the man, waiting for him to argue. _

"_How do I know you're not one of them?" the man asked cautiously. He chuckled._

"_**If I were one of them do you really think I'd want to do what I plan on doing to one of them?"**__ he watched as the man thought about it._

"_I guess not" the man said. "Fine, I'll take your deal"_

_Not far away in a small corridor sat a few townspeople. They were huddled in a corner, wondering what would happen to them. On the other side of the room four weird looking creatures sat and watched. They looked to be a cross between lion, dog and monkey. A strange combination of animals and it made the townsfolk scared and feel sick. They could only hope someone was coming soon to help them._

Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza and Happy all looked toward the man in front of them. Natsu was surprisingly quiet as the man spoke.

"So what kind of creatures are these exactly?" Erza asked the man. He stayed quiet for a minute as if trying to find the words to describe them.

"Well, I guess you could call them animals… err maybe not quite animals. More like mutants you could say" he told them. Lucy gave a puzzled frown.

"What do you mean by mutants?" she asked the man next. The man seemed to fidget in his chair.

"They aren't just one animal. They look, they look like multiple animals put together in one body" he answered.

"You have no idea at all where these mutants came from?" Erza asked. The man shook his head.

"They were just here one day. At first we didn't notice them. some people just said they saw weird shadows. But then our people began disappearing and the mutants actually came out into the light. Sort of as if they wanted us to see them" he answered. His face fell as he talked about all the missing people.

"My own daughter is among the missing" he said sadly. "I just want to know if she's safe.

"Don't worry I bet she's just fine. Everyone will be because we're going to find them" Natsu spoke up. Lucy smiled before adding in her agreement. The man's smile returned as he nodded his head.

"Thank you" he said. Natsu grinned before turning and heading to the door.

"Let's get going! I'm all fired up!" he said.

"Aye sir!" agreed Happy. Gray rolled his eyes as he stood up and followed him through the door. Before Erza and Lucy could move to follow them the man spoke up.

"You ladies, please be careful. These creatures have taken more women than men"

"Nothing to worry about sir, we'll be fine" Erza said before following after the guys. Lucy gave the man a nervous smile and nodded her head before following Erza.

_The shadow moved through the alleys and behind objects as it searches for who it was looking for. Images that were seen were sent back to the owner of the shadow and the man gave a frustrated sigh before the shadow spotted what he was looking for. _

"_**There"**__ he spoke as he saw through the shadow the group of mages exiting a house. The shadow slinked closer to the group, going undetected was top priority. The shadow ducked behind a street lamp and looked in their direction again. The man grinned as he saw them all oblivious to the shadow. _

"_**Damn Fairy Tail mages" **__he said to himself. _

"_**You've spotted them?" **__a voice asked behind him and the man glared back at him._

"_**I have" **__he said as he closed his eyes to see them again. They were moving on down the street and the shadow followed close behind. He caught snippets of conversation. _

"_**What are they saying?" **__the man behind him asked. He tried to keep his face controlled as he opened his eyes again to look at him. _

"_**They are talking about your creatures" **__he said to the man__**. "Now leave me be" **__he once again closed his eyes. The man behind looked about ready to say something again but was cut off by a wave of his hand. His attention back on his shadow he looked for the group again but frowned deeply as he saw nothing. _

"_**damn they must have spotted my shadow" **__with a frustrated sigh he moved out of the room and down the hallway, deciding he would go outside and look for them himself. When he got outside he quickly blended into the shadows themselves._

As they moved down the street looking for signs of any trouble Lucy felt a shiver go down her spine. She was having that feeling again, as If she were being watched. She glanced around, looking for a sign that someone was watching them but saw no one. She then looked at her friends. They seemed unfazed and didn't look to feel anything like she was. She decided to tell them, stopping she spoke up.

"Um guys, I feel like we're being watched and it's creeping me out" she said. Everyone turned back to look at her and Happy flew over to her.

"Lucy's imagining things again" he said. Lucy felt her temper flare.

"I am not!" she told him. She noticed Erza look around.

"I don't see anything but that doesn't mean something's not there. Natsu do you smell anyone?" she turned to him. Natsu thought for a moment.

"Not really, but there has been one scent around us this whole time. It seems to move with us" he said. Erza nodded.

"Can you point it out to me?" she asked. He nodded and pointed to a lamp post.

"It's over there" he said. Erza began to walk in that direction when everyone saw something move along the ground.

"It's a shadow" Erza said with a puzzled face. She began walking toward it again as it moved. Suddenly the shadow stopped and Erza moved her foot out to touch it. Before she made contact however the shadow disintegrated and disappeared. Gray looked at Erza.

"Okay so we're being followed by a shadow. Nothing weird about that right?" he said, humour in his voice.

"More like a shadow mage" Erza responded. Lucy looked around again, trying to see if there were any more shadows. She felt uneasy when Erza had said it was a shadow. She kept thinking of the day before when she saw the moving shadow in the alley by her house. Seeming how it happened again Lucy decided it was time to tell her friends.

"This isn't the first time this has happened" she told them. Four sets of eyes turned to look at her. Natsu was the first to speak.

"What do you mean Luce?" he asked. So she told them all about yesterday and about the shadow.

"Why didn't you say anything yesterday?" Natsu asked her this time. She looked at him and gave her honest answer.

"Because the feeling had passed. I didn't have any more feeling of being watched or anything. I thought maybe I just over reacted"

"Well, now you know you didn't over react. So whoever this person is controlling the shadows has set their sights on you for some reason. They might even be a part of what's been going on here" Erza told her. Lucy felt a shiver run down her arms and clutched them.

"I was hoping I just imagined it" she spoke softly. Natsu moved over to her and put an arm around her.

"Don't worry Luce, we're all here. No one should even think about pulling something with us around" he told her as he gave her his signature grin. Lucy nodded.

"You're right" she said as she leaned into him. Gray cleared his throat.

"Okay well now that we figured out there was a shadow following us, shouldn't we get back to the job at hand?" he said. Erza nodded.

"Let's get to it" she said as they all began walking again. They hadn't walked far when they heard a scream. Everyone stopped in their tracks before running in the direction the scream came from.

"Happy, fly on ahead and see what's going on" Erza ordered.

"Aye sir" said Happy as he flew ahead. He was back not a minute later.

"There's some kind of animals surrounding a woman and her child" he told them. Everyone put on a burst of speed and made it to the area where the screaming was still going on. They heard a cry for help and Natsu had his fist blazing as he slammed into one of the animals. The animal screeched and moved away from him after getting back up. Lucy looked around at all the different animals and tried to keep back her own shout. The animals were all disturbing to look at. Most had more than four legs and were crawling around. They were all large and each had a set of sharp claws. Just like the man had said, all of them looked like multiple animals sharing a body. She quickly looked at the woman and her child who were cowering in fear in a corner of the street. Erza had brought out her sword and began slashing at the animals which continued to screech and move away. Gray was attacking using an ice made sword and Natsu as usual was using his fire to burn them.

"Lucy! Get the woman and the child away from here. Quickly!" Erza shouted back to her.

"I'm on it!" Lucy yelled to her as she weaved through what few animals were left and reached for the woman.

"Quick, come with me" she told her. The woman nodded and grabbed onto her hand, pulling her child with her. Lucy all but dragged them off the street and headed down a hill. When they reached the bottom Lucy tried to decide which way to go next.

"This way Lucy!" called Happy a short distance away. Lucy headed in his direction and ran as quick as she could. Happy led her into a large alley way and out the other end to a small building. It looked deserted and so Lucy pushed open the door. Everyone took a moment to catch their breath and Lucy turned to Happy.

"What about the others?" she asked him.

"More of those weird looking animals came so they stayed to finish the rest of them. Erza said she wanted to try and catch one" he told her.

"Why would she want to catch one?" Lucy asked. Happy shrugged. They both turned to the child as the heard the sounds of her beginning to cry. The mother tried to soothe her and she quickly quieted. The mother than turned to Lucy.

"Thank you so much for the rescue" she said. Lucy smiled.

"It's no problem. We're just glad you're both okay" she told her.

"I'll go back and tell them where you are" Happy said as he flew to the door.

"Be careful Happy" Lucy told him.

"Aye sir!" he said as he left. Not long after he left however Lucy heard a growl coming from behind her and she saw the look on the women's face.

_How did it get in here? Where did it come from? _Lucy wondered as she slowly turned around. She reached for her keys but the animal must have saw her because the next thing she knew something big and furry was on top of her, pinning her to the floor. She heard the women scream behind her and she grabbed a key and brought it out. Before she could use it she felt teeth sink into her skin and she flinched. This wasn't just a bite she realized as she felt something flow from the teeth. Her vision began to blur and black dots danced in her vision. She felt the weight get lifted from her body and could hear the woman behind her.

"Run" Lucy got out before her vision swam again. She heard the door open and close before her vision faded to total darkness.

_The man looked down at the blonde below him. He frowned as the creature came back without the woman and child. He didn't mind much though as he had gotten the person he wanted. He reached out a hand and slid it down her face. He reached for her keys and pocketed them before he picked her up. He turned to the creature._

"_**Go" **__he ordered and the creature moved ahead of him. He exited the house and slunk into the shadows, covered in darkness he left with Lucy cradled against him. He smiled, not quite satisfied but close to it._

"_**Now the fun begins"**_

**So theres the end of chapter 2 C: drop a review please and tell me what you thought.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone C: because it took me so long to update I finished another chapter quickly for you. I hope this means you will forgive me :P enjoy chapter 3!**

_He was frustrated and irritated again. The damn fool wouldn't go away and leave him be._

"_**She sure is pretty" **__he said as he once again looked over the blonde._

"_**Don't be getting any funny ideas. She's the one reason I joined up with you. You touch her and I'll beat you bloody" **__he warned. The man seemed to cower back but still sent longing glances at the blonde._ _He let out a sigh and continued his spell casting on her bindings. _

"_**So what exactly did you want her for again? Some pink headed boy or something of the sort?" **__the man asked. He smiled._

"_**Exactly right. Now will you get outta here? Go find something better to do than bug the hell outta me" **__he told the man. Shrugging the man left the room to go and feed his animals. _

"_**There, all done" **__he said as he propped Lucy up against the wall. He wrapped a piece of fabric around her face so she wouldn't make noise and stood up._

"_**All right now darling. You stay there and be good. I'm going to go and enjoy the show." **__He said before opening the door to the room. He whistled and a large, half dog half tiger came toward him. The animal went into the room and sat down, watching Lucy. Closing the door behind him he left, going through the large set of doors at the front of the building._

The last animal was down. This was the only one that didn't disintegrate and disappear into nothing. It was laying silently on the ground when Erza bent over it. She took a few minutes studying it before turning to Natsu and Gray.

"It's not real. It has no blood, heartbeat. They disappear after being taken down" she said.

"So they're like dolls?" Natsu asked.

"Not exactly dolls as they aren't made from real materials. It's just magic" she told them. Just then Happy flew toward them.

"Hey Happy, are the safe?" Natsu asked him.

"Aye!" Happy responded as he landed in front of them.

"Well we are done here, let's go and get Lucy" Erza said and they all followed Happy toward the small house.

When they arrived however and saw the house was empty Gray turned to Happy.

"You sure this is where you left them?" he asked.

"They were here" Natsu said as his fists clenched at his sides. Erza looked at him and noticed his hands.

"Let me guess" she said. Natsu nodded.

"The shadow was here and one of the animals too. Their scent is all over the place" he said, teeth clenching.

"Hello?" a voice called out from the doorway. Everyone's attention turned to the voice. Erza moved forward toward the women.

"Are you okay?" she asked her. The women nodded a frown on her face.

"But your friend..." she began.

"Do you know what happened to her?" Erza asked. The women nodded again.

"A... a creature, big, appeared in the room and attacked her. It pounced and, she told me to run so I grabbed my child and ran but the thing... bit her" I don't know what happened after that" she told them. Erza thanked her and told her to go home and stay safe.

Teeth clenched Natsu moved toward the door, before he could get far Erza put a hand on his shoulder.

"Natsu wait" she told him. He shook off her hand and looked back at her.

"I'm not going to just stand around here and do nothing. Whoever it is that owns that shadow has Lucy" he turned to head out again but Erza grabbed hold of him again.

"Natsu, we can't just go barging anywhere. We don't know where she is. We need a plan" she said. Natsu glared back at her.

"I have a plan. I'm going to follow the shadows scent and find her then I'm going to beat the shit out of whoever it was that took her and get her out of there" he said angrily. He didn't have enough time to duck as Erza's fist came toward him. He moved his hands up to grab his head where she hit him.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked angrily.

"For being an idiot, just barging in where Lucy is would probably do more harm than good. While you're making your way into where ever it is that she's located, anything could happen to her. We know you're worried, we all are but you need to calm down and think about this" she told him sternly.

Natsu's face fell into shadow as he looked at the ground. Gray came up on his other side and set a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find her Natsu. Try not to worry too much, we'll need you for this one" he told him.

"I told her no one would try pulling anything with us around. I told her she'd be safe" he murmured. Erza's face fell in sympathy. She pulled him in tight against her armour and a loud ting was heard.

"We'll find her Natsu" she whispered. She then let him go and moved toward the door. Natsu looked up and followed behind her and Gray behind him. Happy walked beside Natsu out the door when the stopped outside, he set a paw on Natsu's leg.

"She'll be okay Natsu" he told him. Natsu nodded.

"Okay so first things first, we need to figure out exactly where she is. It seems obvious that the shadows and creatures are connected so if we figure out where they are coming from then we're likely to find Lucy" Erza spoke up.

"I can follow the scent of that shadow" Natsu said. Without waiting for an answer he moved in the direction the smell was coming from. Erza and Gray shared a look before following behind him. They didn't get far though before Natsu made a frustrated sound.

"Or not. Dammit" he said, fists again clenched at his sides.

"What's the matter?" Gray asked.

"The scent disappears right here" he answered.

"In that case, whoever this person is must know that we would rely on your sense of smell to track her down" Erza said. Natsu nodded.

"I guess our only option then is to follow one of the creatures. They have to go somewhere. That or wait until this person shows himself" she told them. Just then they heard a loud noise coming back from the way of the town square.

"Sounds like this will be our chance" she said as she took off in that direction.

"They're pretty persistent aren't they" Gray stated as he ran alongside Erza. Natsu followed closely behind. Intent on finding out where Lucy is from the weird creatures. They made it to the square in no time and stared in shock when they saw a few people disappear into thin air. They saw the creatures jumping on people and biting into them.

"Quick! Stop them from taking anyone else" Erza ordered and everyone moved off into different directions to fight off the animals. There were many of the creatures around the square. Some men fought them off with household items while the women and children took cover in their houses. Swinging her sword down hard on one of the creatures about to pounce on a man it let out a yelp and disappeared. The man looked shakily at her and she motioned for him to get going. He moved to run out of the square, who she assumed was his wife following closely behind him. Erza turned back to the fight at hand and saw Gray taking care of a few creatures with his ice. She moved quickly, going after more of them while telling people to leave as fast as they could. Children cried as they were carted away from the houses and out of the town square.

A little ways away Natsu swatted at creatures, fists full of fire as he connected with body after body. Letting out a little frustration and anger on the creatures, he pummeled them until they disappeared. Some burst into flame from his fire and squealed into the air as their bodies burned to a crisp.

"Stupid animals" he said as he hit another one with a flaming fist. As he neared another animal it seemed to rise up on its hind legs and swung at him. Dodging the hit Natsu moved to the side and hit the animal in the side. It fell over back on four legs before turning its ugly head at him and spewing something from its mouth. A disgusting stench filled Natsu's nose as he rubbed at his face. Eyes watering Natsu sent a dragon's roar at the creature and listened to it shriek before disappearing. As the horrible smell left his nose he heard Happy above him.

"You okay Natsu?" his friend asked.

"I'm fi…" his voice drifted off as he smelt a familiar scent. The scent of the shadow. Turning around he quickly moved in its direction. Happy not knowing exactly what he was doing followed behind as Natsu moved away from the square and down a few side streets.

Erza let out a heavy sigh as she finished with the last creature. They had one tied up and it continued to squeal and struggle to get away.

"There was so many of them this time" Gray said as he joined her with another creature bounded. He dragged it beside the other one and turned to Erza.

"So these things will take us to Lucy?" he asked her.

"I hope so" she replied. They each turned to call Natsu over and noticed him missing.

"You don't think he actually lost to these things do you?" Gray asked jokingly. Erza let out a frustrated sigh.

"He probably went off to find Lucy by himself" she said. Gray nodded. They both turned as they heard footsteps and saw the man who requested the job. He moved steadily toward them, eyeing the creatures nervously.

"I need to talk with you" he told them as he came to a stop in front of them.

Natsu moved quickly through the streets, following the scent of the shadow.

"Natsu. Where are we heading?" Happy asked from beside him.

"I'm not sure Happy. Wherever this scent ends, that's where we'll find Lucy" he told his friend. With the thought of Lucy in his mind he put on a burst of speed, using his fire to project himself forward.

"I'm coming Luce, wait for me" he spoke to the air putting on even more speed to get to her quickly.

_He smiled as he watched the salmon haired mage run. He tried to hold back a laugh at the shear desperation on his face. _

"_**Hurry along Natsu, rush to the blonde girl's side. I want to see more of your desperate face" **__he whispered to the air around him. He turned back to the alley in which he was watching. Satisfied that he was following the shadow exactly to where he wanted him. _

"_**Hmm, what else can I do to make him worry?" **__ He wondered to himself, an evil smirk on his face. "__**Something that will scare the daylights out of him" **__He tried to figure out what he would do next as he vanished into the shadows again, heading back to the place where everyone was being held. _

"_**Maybe I'll let the annoying man have a bit of fun" **_

**Okay so there's chapter 3 C: I hope you enjoyed. I wanted to make Natsu go absolutely crazy but I tried to make it more realistic xD I don't know when I'll update next because I'm stuck again :/ I hate not knowing what to do next v.v if anyone has an idea feel free to pm me C:**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well here's the next short chapter. Sorry for the wait.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own! Trollshima does [Mashima-sensei]**

Lucy felt groggy; her head was pounding against her skull which made her flinch. She attempted to put her hands to her head and heard the clanging of chains. Lucy stopped moving her hands and glanced at them. Nothing was binding her wrists.

_Why did I hear chains? _She thought to herself as she moved her arms again. There was the same sound. This time she shook her arms, trying to find out exactly if the sound was coming from her arms. Hearing once again the same sound Lucy gritted her teeth and put her hands to where she imagined chains to be. As she set one hand down on her wrist she saw a shimmer glaze across and reveal a small bracelet holding a large chain.

"Magic chains" she whispered. Lucy stood up; slightly unsteady on her feet as the drug or whatever it was was still in her system. Putting both hands on where the invisible chain was, she saw the shimmer again and began sliding her hands along. When she came to the end of the chain her mouth began to hang open. The end of the chain wasn't attached to anything. Confused Lucy grabbed the end and held it up to her eye, trying to see if there was something else there. Seeing nothing she turned to the door of the room and began to walk toward it. She didn't get far before she heard the growling. It was a low rumble at first so she didn't notice it, but as she got closer to the door the growl began to get louder to the point that Lucy stopped moving and glanced in its direction. Knowing what she thought she might see Lucy looked across the room to the creature that now sat up in full attention, eyes fixated on her. Lucy felt a small shaft of fear roll over her body at the sight of the creature. Not knowing quite what to do she glanced longingly at the door.

_Can I make it to the door in time? _She wondered. She glanced back at the creature to gauge the distance between her and it. Then a thought hit her and she moved a hand down to where her keys were usually held. Feeling nothing Lucy felt a sense of panic. If she didn't have her keys then it was pretty much impossible to get to the door before the creature was on her. Taking a deep breath Lucy decided to try anyway.

_I need to get out of here, _she told herself, determined now to get to the door. Sending one more glance at the creature she made a move to look as though she would move away from the door. Seeing the creature relax a bit she took her chance and burst towards the door. She had only taken a few steps before she felt the yank on her wrists. Shocked that the chains were pulling her she glanced over to where the end of the chain had been laying but didn't really have to look before she spotted the creature pulling on it with his mouth.

"Dammit" Lucy whispered as she saw the creature pull back, pulling her with it. Lucy dug in her heals and began to pull, trying once again to get to the door. Pulling as hard as she could against the chains she moved a few steps to the door. Suddenly the chain was released by the creature and Lucy felt herself falling backwards. Lucy braced herself for the impact and let out a groan as she hit the floor hard. Her head began to sting where it had connected with the floor and she breathed in a quick breath. She quickly tried to get to her feet but didn't have time before the creature was on her, its jaws snapping at her as she put her chain clad hands up to protect herself. This was when she began to panic again; the creature was large and heavy, almost impossible to keep back. Struggling for what felt like forever Lucy began to get tired. She couldn't keep the thing away from her for much longer. Taking in a deep breath she pushed hard on the creature's chest, managing to move it away from her a little bit. The creature quickly began to come at her again and Lucy could no longer hold her arms up to fend it off. Right before the creature could clamp its jaws around her throat Lucy heard a loud whistle. Relief began to enter through her body before she remembered where exactly she was. Her head turned sharply toward the sound of the whistle and the creature moved off her. Lucy felt her throat go dry as she saw the man that had saved her. He was clad all in black and had a devilish grin plastered to his face. A scar ran along his jaw and his eyes seemed to pierce through her. A shadow moved on the ground toward her and Lucy quickly scooted away from it, not wanting it to touch her.

"Easy now young lady, the shadow won't hurt you" he told her in a steady voice.

"What do you want?" Lucy asked, her voice shaking. She noticed the man's face fall as he looked at her, she swore it was disappointment on his face.

"I was hoping you would have asked a better question. It's always the same, who are you? What do you want? Yada yada ya" he let out a small laugh after he said that, as if it amused him. Lucy frowned and moved to stand, her feet once again unsteady as she faced him square on. She could see the man's eyes roll over her body and she felt a shiver of disgust at his blatant staring.

"I'm not very original and stop staring at me, it's creepy" she told him angrily. The man just laughed and motioned with his hands for her to move toward a chair. Lucy refused to move and stayed standing where she was.

"Where am I? What interest do you have in me?" she asked, dreading what he might say.

"You Lucy Heartfilia are in a room, and the only interest I have in you would be your boyfriend. However, your body's not that bad either" he said. Lucy felt another shiver of disgust before she squared her shoulders and sent a glare at him.

"What do you want with Natsu?" she asked him, trying to hide her concern for the pink haired mage. The man just waved his hand again.

"I want to play. Just like old times" he said, a small smile returning to his face. Lucy looked at him puzzled.

"Play…. Weird sort of game you're playing. Pretty sick too" she told him angrily. Once again his face fell.

"Yes well, it is my game after all. Once Natsu gets here I'm hoping to have moved the game to the next level although I'm not exactly needed for that" he said. That caught Lucy's attention.

"Next level?" she asked. He smirked.

"I think there's someone who wants to meet you. You see he's the creator of all this. The mutations, the kidnappings, and he seemed to have taken a liking to you. I forbade him of touching you however but I could be lenient" he answered as he turned toward the door.

"I'll be back Miss Lucy. Don't go trying to leave the room again however" he said smugly as he let out another whistle. The same creature lumbered toward her and sat down. Its eyes staring at her. Watching, hoping for her to make a move toward the door so it could attack. Lucy shivered as she remembered its fangs. The man had begun walking out the door when Lucy called out to him.

"You know my name but I don't know yours" she told him. He glanced back.

"There's no need for you to know my name" he replied before closing the door behind him with a final click. Lucy glanced nervously at the creature before she began pacing the room, careful not to move toward the door. She hoped that Natsu was careful and not being too reckless for her sake.

"How can I get out of here? I need to find my keys too, before anything" she spoke to herself, trying to come up with a plan but coming up empty. Unfortunately she didn't even have time to form a plan when the door opened again. This time it wasn't the same man. This guy was dressed in a navy blue shirt with black pants. He was shorter than the other man and looked more ragged, like he had just been woken up from a nap. His hair was tussled from sleep and his eyes were half closed.

_Definitely just woke up, _she thought. The man looked over at the creature before smiling at it and patting his leg. The creature, like an obedient dog went to him its tail wagging behind it in happiness. He then turned to Lucy and she felt disgusted at the look in his eyes.

"Don't come any closer to me" she told him. The man gave a chuckle.

"Are you going to stop me?" he asked as he took another step toward her, creature by his side.

"Would you prefer me? Or my friend here I wonder. Let's see if my guess is right" he said. Lucy had no time to react before he and the creature were on her. Lucy's scream filled the air and reverberated throughout the halls. In another room, all the shadow man did was smile as he awaited Natsu…..

**Okay what the hell. o.o what is that weird creepy horrible guy doing to Lucy? ummm ya I'm not gonna tell you C: you'll have to wait and find out. Once again I'm sorry for the long wait and I'm having real troubles with the story and the speech, who should say what and yada yada. Feel free to hate me because I don't know when I'll update next. Also sorry this is so short. Until next time~~**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello my good fanfic readers! How are you all doing? I hope you're well. Anyway I'm sorry for the wait but here's chapter 5. I was a little bit stuck on this chapter so I would like to thank Bri-chan of Konoha for helping me out with this chapter. Also thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorite and started following this story. :3 you make me glad I'm actually writing this. I know everyone was a little worried about what was going on at the end of the last chapter so….. I'm not going to give anything away :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.**

Natsu and Happy arrived at a large building. It was built up with thick bricks and looked to be well enforced for battle. This was where the shadow scent had led him and he could smell Lucy's scent mixed in with others. When all the scents first assaulted his nose he had to fight a wave of nausea, blood and sweat as well as multiple different people and weird creatures were all mixed together and almost over powered his senses. He carefully attempted to pick out Lucy's scent from all the rest and caught it. Not even waiting before slamming the door open Natsu burst through the door and headed down a hallway at a run. Happy followed closely behind him, his hair beginning to rise on his body. They traveled quite a ways before they heard a muffled sob. Or at least what sounded like a muffled sob. Lucy's scent was coming from that room and Natsu felt a shiver of anger rush through his body. If anyone had hurt his Lucy all hell would pay. Taking a breath to calm himself he began to push the door open. What he saw however made his temper flare and he felt the urge to find the bastard and kick his ass.

~Meanwhile~

Erza and Gray followed the man, dragging the creature behind them. The creature's whimpers were heard as it was scraped along the ground. They entered the same place they had met and Erza turned to the man.

"Is there some new information you need to share with us?" she asked him. The man nodded but then shook his head.

"Well not really" he told them, "Just, I was wondering if you learned anything new?" he asked.

"Well to start off with our friend was taken. I'm hoping this creature here will lead us to where the others are and in turn to Lucy and the one responsible. We also did realize that someone here can manipulate shadows" she told him.

"You mean like a shadow mage? That would explain why people seemingly disappear" he said as he nodded.

"Yeah but if the people just disappear then why the animals?" Gray asked.

"I think the bigger question is, why do this in the first place? What possible motive could this person have?" Erza said. The man looked frustrated.

"I don't know. I don't know of anyone who would want to do this" he told them. Erza turned her attention to the creature who had shrunk away as far as It could from her. She moved to it and pulled it up so she could look in its eyes.

"Well, I'm sure we'll find all this out when we meet him. Alright you" she said to the creature.

"You're going to lead us to your master" she told it. The creature seemed to understand as it began to shift its position nervously.

"Also if you run to far ahead, I'll be sure you'll regret it" she said sternly. She then motioned to Gray.

"We need to catch up with Natsu before he gets into more trouble" she told him. Gray nodded.

"Knowing him he'll have already started by the time we get there" Gray said. Erza then turned back to the man.

"We will find everyone and bring them back. Not to worry" the two plus the creature then left and Erza and Gray followed as it led the way.

~Back with Natsu, Lucy and Happy~

Lucy sat against the back wall of the room, her clothing ripped in multiple places revealing large portions of skin. The skin showing had many small lacerations as well as a few large claw marks. The claw marks had a steady stream of blood flowing from them which had soaked the pieces of cloth Lucy had used in an attempt to stop the bleeding. When they had finally stopped bleeding she let out a relieved breath. Her whole body hurt and the cuts and bruises stung whenever they made contact with the ground or the cloth. When she heard the door open she feared that the man and creature had come back again. She quickly picked up the chain, holding it as she would a whip in case she needed a weapon. She tried to hold back a sob as she felt a sharp pain flash up her right arm. When the door opened however and she caught a small glimpse of pink hair she let the chain drop and the sob to come freely.

"Natsu" she said his name as the door fully opened and Natsu and Happy rushed in.

"Luuuucy" Happy cried as he flew toward her, hugging her tightly. Natsu had hesitated a moment as he took in the scene before also rushing to her side. Lucy could see his clenched hands as his eyes roamed over her body, taking in her injuries. When he saw just how much of her clothing was ripped and where, his teeth ground together. He tried to hold in his anger. Lucy saw his reaction and knew how she must look and quickly rushed to reassure him.

"I'm fine, I'm okay" she told him as a few tears streamed down her face. He looked up into her face and wiped a tear from her cheek.

"He didn't…" he trailed off as Lucy shook her head.

"He didn't get to. He and the animal jumped on me and I, I fought back. I threw the chain at them again and again hoping they would just leave. Then the animals claws got at my skin and tarred my clothes so I tried to wrap the chain around its mouth to keep it from biting me" She said before taking a deep breath.

"The man seemed to be half asleep and I managed to get him across the face with the chain. Then it was like he woke up and noticed what he was doing. He said something about being in deep trouble and pulled the animal away. Next thing I knew he was running out of the room. I'm guessing the animal followed him though because it's not here" she told him. Happy moved away from her a bit and looked at her worriedly. Lucy felt herself blush as him moving resulted in more of her body being exposed. She crossed her arms over her chest and pulled her legs up. Natsu noticed her discomfort and slipped out of his vest and placed it over her shaking body. Lucy quickly put it on and wrapped it tightly around herself, feeling better now that she wasn't as exposed. Natsu hadn't spoken in a while and Lucy wondered what he was thinking about.

"Was it this shadow guy?" he asked her finally. Lucy shook his head.

"There is two different guys. The one that attacked me, it seemed that the animal liked him so I assumed he's the owner of them or something. Natsu, this shadow guy, he knows you. He said he wants to play a game like old times. I don't know what he means by that though" she told him. Natsu seemed to think about it for a minute before his brow furrowed.

"I don't know either. We should get out of here though, in case those guys come back. Not that I'd mind" he said in a semi threatening voice.

"I can't go without my keys" Lucy told him.

"Then we'll go get them." Natsu said as he slipped his arm around her waist and lifted her and began walking towards the door, Happy flying alongside them.

They crept along the halls trying to be as quiet as they possibly could. Natsu sniffed the air trying to figure out where the shadow guy was. Natsu heard a noise and stopped in his tracks.

"What is it Natsu?" Lucy asked.

"I heard something." Natsu replied, looking down the hallway to where he thought he heard the noise.

"Could it be the shadow guy or the other guy with the creatures?" Happy asked.

"It doesn't smell like either of them. It smells like Gr-"Natsu was cut off by Gray and Erza running towards them.

"I see you found Lucy?" Erza said when she reached them.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"A few scratches and bruises, that's all. I'll live." Lucy replied, smiling lightly at Erza's worried expression.

"Do you have any idea where this shadow guy is?" Gray asked.

"I'm not sure, can't really smell him with all these other scents clogged together" Natsu told him. Gray gave him a puzzled expression.

"Other scents? Like the missing townspeople?" he asked. Natsu shrugged.

"It could be them, but it's also blood and the creatures, not to mention something smells like its rotting" Natsu replied, his nose twitching.

"Well, now that we have Lucy back he's likely going to come out anyway. Not to mention there's that creature guy to worry about" Gray said. Erza nodded.

"The best we can do would be to look around for both of them. Even better we need to find the missing townspeople." Erza spoke.

"So what do we do first?" Happy spoke up.

"We can go and knock down random doors and make noise to lure them out" Natsu suggested, which earned a hit on the head from Lucy.

"I think a surprise attack would be better and NOT draw attention to ourselves" Lucy said.

"Well they're likely to already know we're here" Gray told her.

"We weren't exactly quiet coming here" Erza agreed. Lucy felt a shiver run down her spine at the same moment Natsu caught the scent of the shadow man.

"That way" "He's close" Natsu and Lucy said at the same time. They looked at each other for a moment before Natsu grinned and took off toward the scent, Erza, Gray and Happy following behind him.

"Natsu I can-" Lucy began to protest being carried until she felt Natsu's arms tighten around her. She decided just to let him carry her, she didn't really mind especially since her clothing were ripped. However she knew she would have to stand up sooner or later. They continued down the hallway and turned a few corners before Natsu came to a halt.

"His scents gone" Natsu told them. Everyone let out a sigh of frustration as they searched around the large open area they had come to. The walls were bare and there wasn't much furniture in the room either. There however was another door off to the left but a quick look showed only a small closet like space. Back tracking they walked down another hallway and Lucy felt another shiver run down her spine. They passed multiple doors and checked each one finding nothing but odd storage spaces. When they came to the last door in the hallway Lucy pointed at it. The door had a weird design on it that looked like a cat and frog put together. Natsu frowned at the way it looked and set Lucy firmly on the ground. Making sure she was covered enough Lucy stood off to the side as Natsu opened the door. Seeming how they had finished checking the other doors Gray and Erza moved closely behind him to peer in. Natsu swung the door open wide and had to cover his nose as the smell hit him. Erza's eye widened and Gray Looked shocked. Lucy peered around them to see what they were looking at. When she did see it however here own eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hand.

"What happened?" Lucy whispered to no one in particular.

**-coughs- okay so I'm going to end it there. Once again sorry for the wait :o please R&R**


End file.
